A couple of days ago I stumbled upon this short interview clip in which Reb Zalman is asked if he could impart one thing about Teshuvah to his grandchildren what would it be.

Reb Zalman replied with a lovely little snip it taken(I believe) from some Hassidic teaching tale which went something like this.

G-D is more angry that we don’t take advantage of Teshuvah then he is over the sin.

Actually it’s so short and easy enough for me to embed into this post why don’t you watch Reb Zalman tell the story himself.

I can’t really speak for anyone other than myself but I feel this simple and pithy statement hits the nail right on the head. I’m often able to realize when I’ve made a mistake (after the fact that is). I can even take such insights and integrate them into my conscious mind so that I’m less likely to fall into the same trap in the future. However I don’t really like copping to my mistakes so much.  I mean I’m good with learning from the past and do my best not to repeat mistakes but I have a hard time stopping myself once I realize I’ve screwed up and then go apologize to the person.  I think it’s often a combination of pride and embarrassment.

Reb Zalman’s thoughts on the subject really hit home in that I unfortunately all too often engage in the exact opposite of what he’s suggesting. Anyhow I guess there’s always room to grow and improve. I think that I will end this post with a Thank you to Reb Zalman for gently and accurately shining a little light on one of my many blind spots.

Be well

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A couple of weeks back I found this quote by Mordecai Kaplan somewhere online and saved it for later use in a post. However it’s been so long that I seem to have forgotten just where I snagged it from. I know that it was online and I’m sure it was taken from a relatively reliable source. Come to think of it I have this vague sense that this quote may have originally been in Kaplan’s classic book “Judaism as an Evolving Religious Civilization” but I can’t say for sure.

Anyhow it’s a great quote regardless of where it came from so here it is.

“To believe in God means to take for granted that it is man’s destiny to rise above the brute and to eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation from human society.” 

This quote captures with great elegance and simplicity my own recent thinking on what it means to believe in G-D as well as the implications that such a belief holds. Of course if I want to be picky I can point out that his use of the term “man” is somewhat pejorative towards approximately 50% of those who believe in G-D. However considering that it was most likely written at least 50 or 60 years ago I think that it’s OK to let this one slide.

It is a quote that speaks to me in so many ways and on so many levels. It informs me that to believe in G-D means that I must elevate myself above my own inner darkness and lower nature. I read Kaplan’s words as a call encouraging all of us to stop engaging in violence against ourselves, each other and the world we inhabit. I believe this quote pithily points out the incredible incompatibility between a truly spiritual life and the willful engagement in exploitation, no matter how small it maybe.

I read this as a simple instruction to open my eyes, mind and heart, so that I can better see how it is that I am manifesting in this life I’ve been given. Also just beneath the surface of this quote. I suspect that Kaplan is imploring us to remember that we are but stewards here for a short time and are responsible not only for our Neshamah’s work in this life but also the legacy we leave behind for future generations.

I think Kaplan’s quote grabbed my attention because not only does it speak to the parts of me that I am aware of but also to the parts of me that are just now beginning to emerge as I work my way up the ladder one rung at a time. Reading his words today I couldn’t help but reflect on my last post and think to myself “ yes I understand what you’re saying and in my own muddled way, I’m indeed working on it.”

And on that note Shavua Tov.

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I’ve been meaning to post on this (no joke) since last December but I just never got around to it. So anyhow here it is better late than never.

I stumbled across a very interesting lecture by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin which was recorded at the 2006 Jewish Funders Network conference. The lecture was entitled “A Jewish Code of Ethics” and was based on his latest work in progress which is no surprise a three volume series on ethics in Judaism. Thus far however only the first volume has been published and I’m not sure when the others are scheduled to come out. As a sidebar I do have the first volume and highly recommend it but then again I pretty much recommend everything Telushkin puts out.

He covers a lot of very interesting ground including how in Judaism (at least as he sees it) ritual and ethics go hand-in-hand in that ritual helps to inform and develop a sense of ethical awareness and ability in one’s life. I was impressed with how he framed things and although the idea of ritual and ethics as mutually inclusive is nothing new to me, I was really impressed and encouraged by his arguments and presentation on the subject.

I’ve probably listened to this lecture six or seven times now and it’s filled with insightful nuggets but listening to it again this morning one thing in particular jumped right out at me.

At about 11 minutes into the second audio Telushkin makes the following comment.

It’s not enough in life to have good intentions; you have to have a system.

Okay I realize that it doesn’t look like much of a quote written down but it really hit home and got me thinking about a few things, which I’ll get to in a minute.

Rabbi Telushkin basically touches on the idea that many people are caring, well-intentioned and want to do all sorts of helpful things. He goes on however to point out that often times our good intentions are never fulfilled. He suggests sometimes this is because people don’t have a system in place so that they can move forward. I also believe that sometimes our lack of a plan leads to a situation where people forget all about ethical ideas and intentions, which if you’re like me drift in and out of consciousness like clouds in the summer sky.

I suppose what really hit home for me listening this afternoon was the realization that ethical thinking does not in of itself create an ethical person. Without action it is really not much more than fanciful daydreaming. Of course ethical thinking creates a psychic space out of which ethical action can happen, but I realized today that I spend way more time thinking about engaging in ethical behavior and livelihood than I actually participate in any such activities.

Rabbi Telushkin goes on to provide some rather convincing arguments for how ritual (for example prayer) can help develop the emotional and spiritual muscles required for engaging in ethical behavior.

Of course I’m not sure what to do with this new insight other than spend a little bit more time thinking about how I can build mechanisms to help turn more of my thinking into action. This is certainly a very interesting topic and one I hope to come back to in future posts.

Anyhow the audio is worth checking out and as always if you do let me know what you thought.

Scholar-in-Residence, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

A Code of Jewish Ethics, Part 1
(MP3 audio 8205Kb)

A Code of Jewish Ethics, Part 2
(MP3 audio 6527Kb)

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